Ladies meet Erik Hassle, a budding pop singer-songwriter, who is not afraid to admit when he’s done a girl wrong. His unique voice paired with electro-pop-rock influences make him pop perfection. The twenty-two year-old singer got his start over in Sweden back in 2008 and quickly became a Swedish sensation. In 2010 he made his move to take over the UK, as an opening act for Mika, and later took on the US by releasing his debut album, Pieces. The album failed to make an impact on either country’s charts – making it one of 2010’s most overlooked gems. Sweden is notorious for producing powerful pop music and Hassle proves he is no exception.
Hassle selected “Hurtful,” one of his most popular tracks from Sweden, as the lead single from his debut album. The track starts off with a breezy feel as the drums offer a fitting showcase for Hassle’s soulful voice. Hassle’s lyrics dive deep into his personal flaws from a previous relationship – packing on the emotional intensity. His regretful sentiments are amplified in the passionate chorus, “you don’t know what you got till you’re missing it a lot/ I had to go throw it away.” Hassle’s heartache is fully earned by the end of the chorus when be apologizes, “what I did to you was hurtful.” Check out the music video below. The video further demonstrates Hassle’s despair and the infatuation between Hassle and the video vixen is very clear – the perfect video for this love song.
Other buzz tracks from his album include, “Bump in the Road,” an inspiring track about pushing through the hard times. The album’s third track, “Don’t Bring Flowers,” is a fierce guitar powered track about a bitter break up. “Standing Where You Left Me,” is a dark pop track about being left alone. It’s clear from many of the songs featured on the album Hassle has been through some rocky relationships in the past.
Hassle plans to release a mini-album in Sweden. The first single, “Are You Leaving,” is a strong dance track with disco influences. Hassle sticks to what he knows best: heartache, with gut wrenching lyrics leading the song.
Hurtful Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiXjYDKv2Mc&feature=relmfu
Check out Erik Hassle’s myspace: http://www.myspace.com/erikhassle
BUY his album on iTunes.
Sound off about Erik Hassle in the comments below!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at DePauw chapter.